Matt Flynn reacts to being named starter against Denver

Shortly after Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll announced Matt Flynn as the starting quarterback for Saturday’s game against the Denver Broncos, seemingly everyone knew of the news besides Flynn himself.

“I did not know that prior to you telling me,” said Flynn in response to being told of the news. “I hadn’t had that conversation [with Pete Carroll] yet.”

For the second consecutive week, Flynn will be the Seahawks’ starting quarterback after an efficient and effective performance against the Tennessee Titans last weekend. Flynn led the Seahawks’ offense to a field goal on their opening drive, and completed 11-of-13 passes for 71 yards after playing the entire first half.

Seahawks QB Matt Flynn won’t change his strategy against Denver if the defense doesn’t allow him to throw it deep. (AP)

Rookie quarterback Russell Wilson helped seal the Seahawks’ 27-17 victory on Saturday with two touchdown drives in the second half. Wilson will once again play during the second half against Denver, while veteran Tarvaris Jackson is slated to be on the sidelines for a second straight week.

Several national pundits have criticized Carroll’s philosophy toward a three-way quarterback competition, considering repetitions are so valuable during training camp (Jackson got all the first-team reps on Tuesday). Despite the day-to-day competition, Flynn says each quarterback is handling the situation well.

“I think all three of us are doing a very good job of not letting [the competition] effect the way we play on the field and the way we prepare,” Flynn said Tuesday. “It’s been a good competition so far and I think all three of us are getting a lot out of it.”

Flynn was conservative in his first preseason game as a member of the Seahawks, which wasn’t necessarily by design. Despite having the opportunity to throw the ball downfield, the Titans’ Cover-2 defense wasn’t allowing the deep ball to be thrown.

“You don’t always get the perfect defense for the perfect play,” explained Flynn. “We had some deep stuff called and they happened to be in that defense where you have to check it down and go to the next play. Getting two, three, four yards is just like a good running play.

As the Seahawks start their preparation for the Denver game, Flynn says won’t be changing his strategy if the defense won’t allow him to.

“I’d like to go up there and get it down the field but if they don’t give me the coverage, I’m going to do exactly what I did this past weekend,” Flynn added.